Employer-Sponsored Plans

• According to a study completed by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the cost of health insurance continues to rise. The foundation studied employer-sponsored plans offered in 2010 and compared the premiums to those of plans offered in 2009. The increase in premiums for families was 3 percent higher; it was 5 percent higher for singles. In 2010, the average cost for family coverage was $13,770, with the employee paying $9,773 and the employer paying $4,819. Singles went from $4,824 total to $5,049. While a 3 percent to 5 percent jump may not sound like much, the 2010 premium is a 114 percent increase from that in 2000, where family coverage only ran $6,438, with the employer paying almost a third.
  
  

Non-Employer Plans

• A study of the coverage provided by eHealthInsurance used its policy base to look at the cost of individual plans. In February 2010, the online company had 288,238 individual plans and 96,460 plans across the country, with 53.9 percent males and an average age of 35.7. They found the average annual cost for an individual with an average deducible of $2,632 was $2,204. For families, the average annual cost for plans with an average deductible of $3,128 was $4,596.
  
  

Types

• Both studies noted that there was a difference in the premium based on coverage, size of the employer, deductibles and types of plans. Plans that offered a health savings account and a high-deductible health plan (HSA with HDHP) normally cost less according to the Kaiser study, with point-of-service plans (POS) right above them.
  
  

Geography

• The average cost of a plan also rose or dropped depending on location. For example, according to the eHealthInsurance study, New York had an average monthly family premium of $897.82 compared to the monthly premium family premium for Iowa of $238.93.
  
  

Time Frame

• Short-term health policies, normally used between jobs or while waiting for permanent coverage, cost less than permanent plans. The reason is because once the term ends, the policy ceases. If you have a long, drawn-out illness, the company only pays for the short period it covers.
  
  

Considerations

• The amount of the deductible, coinsurance and copays in the plan also make a difference in the premium. If you have a high deductible, the amount you pay before the company pays anything, the price is lower than a policy with a low deductible. Coinsurance, the amount after the deductible where you pay a portion and the insurance company pays a portion, also makes a difference in the cost. Just like the deductible, the more you pay, the lower your premium. The same is true for copays, payments made each time a managed-care plan holder uses the services of a health provider.
  
  

Other Factors

• Women pay more for individual health insurance, as do smokers and people with health histories or those with weight issues. However, the company's claim history, investment earnings and expenses also play dramatic roles in the company's premium for their health policies.